Russian watches

Thread: Huge Russian Watches - A buyers guide and general information...

1. 01-04-2013 04:55 PM #1 Shep

WTF Full Member

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I had a tough decision if I should post this. Many collectors have a difficult time with Russian watches because they cannot be clarified easily. “Is it real or not?” So I put together some facts to help others.

Some many people have so many opinions on Russians watches. The biggest problem is there are so many tourist watches out there “fakes”. In my opinion I do not have a problem buying these tourist watches, I own one. I just do not want to see others buying them and thinking they purchased an original and I also do not want to see someone over paying for one that is not original but a fake.

A tourist watch for people whom do not know is a Russian watch converted or put together from other / multiple Russian watches to make a watch to be sold to tourists. Some people also call these watches Franks short for a Frankenstein watch.

After and before the wall fell many Russian / Ukrainian watch makers created such watches. They obtained or took cases, parts, and or moments from watch factories in the former USSR and sold them on the black market. Today that market has grown even more.

Some watches out for sale have true Russian movements and parts, but a watchmaker has used parts from multiple watches to create a new fantasy / tourist watch, or they use an old movement and created a new body and face to create a brand new watch. Even worse over the last few years since older Russian movements are now getting more scarce some watches are totally created and made in China and sold as an Russian original.

The biggest fake out there is the Russian Zlatoust Vodolaz divers watch.

The original has a stainless steel body and a nice large manual winding movement. After the wall fell many movements and cases where still available and taken from the factories. Many watch makers including the former Zlatoust Watch Factory created new dial and put them back together to sell to tourist. Many where made from original parts but they were never Russian navy issue. Some of the later watches have brass bodies cheaply chromed because they ran out of the original stainless steel cases. Easy to tell the differences if it does not look like the picture “shown below� than it’s a fantasy or tourist watch.

Example of original:

If the watches face and back has images, multiple text, and logos then it is a tourist watch.

Examples of tourist watches:

Original vintage Russian watches for the most part have plain faces and not many images or logos. Russians made very functional and easy to read watches, Industrial Design and cosmetic selling factors were not of any importance. In other words Plain, Plain, and Plain! To assure if you’re buying an original you must do your homework, with that said buyers

beware.

Another problem in trying to obtain a Zlatoust diver watch is that they are still making them based on the original design. The company in Russia is Agat or what was the Zlatoust Clock Factory. They sell a model that is just like the originals with a plain dial and back.

Divers watch

The other one they sell has the Agat text on the dial and that watch is called the 193ChS .

Divers watch 193ChS

There are a couple of companies selling new Russian diver watched based on the original Russian design.

One is Moscow Classics which was formally the Moscow Watch Factory Moscow Classic . They make their own automatic movements and have some nice looking designs. The copy of the Russian Diver they made in the early 2000’s and only stopped making them a couple years back. You can still buy new ones online they go between 400 to 500 US dollars. However if you look around online you can get the even cheaper. The watch has a stainless steel body and an automatic movement. They still make other diver watches just not based on the original Russian diver design.

Moscow Classic Diver examples:

Here is mine an earlier model, number 348 out of 500 made:

The second company making new divers is Invicta Watch Group. Invicta loves to copy other watch maker’s designs. There not even Russian they are based in the USA in Florida and most of their parts are manufactured in China and then shipped too and assembled in Switzerland, that’s how they can put the Swiss Made on their watches. If you did not know this well now you do.

Examples of an Invicta Diver:

There is another very popular Russian tourist watch being sold as original Russian military issue. These are typically watches that started out life as a 1985 Molnija pocket watch with a 3602 movement.

Example of an 1985 Molnija pocket watch:

Many watch makers hacked and butchered these watch by modifying the stem / crown, attaching lugs on the body, re-chroming, and added a madeup dial and sometimes new hands. I did purchase one myself, I knew it was a tourist watch but I liked it and paid a low price. I have post the watch on other forums and most agree with me that it is a tourist, I have also received a comment that it’s a real Russian issue because some people have seen a picture of this type of watch in the 80’s on Vladimir Putin wrist. I have not seen this picture so I’m still saying most likely it is a tourist watch.

My tourist watch:

Hope this help out some people looking to purchase a huge Russian watch.

If you own any huge Russian watches please post them, I would like too see them.